Since then even more devices have come out. It’s obvious that we can’t
keep creating custom solutions for each one. So, how do we deal with the
situation?
Part of the Solution: Flexible Everything
A few years ago, when flexible layouts were almost a “luxury” for websites,
the only things that were flexible in a design were the layout columns
(structural elements) and the text. Images could easily break layouts, and
even flexible structural elements broke a layout’s form when pushed
enough. Flexible designs weren’t really that flexible; they could give or take
a few hundred pixels, but they often couldn’t adjust from a large computer
screen to a netbook.
Now we can make things more flexible. Images can be automatically
adjusted, and we have workarounds so that layouts never break (although
they may become squished and illegible in the process). While it’s not a
complete fix, the solution gives us far more options. It’s perfect for devices
that switch from portrait orientation to landscape in an instant or for when
users switch from a large computer screen to an iPad.
In Ethan Marcotte’s article, he created a sample Web design that features
this better flexible layout: